Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan said there won’t be much pressure on Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya while leading the franchise for the second time in the Indian Premier League. Pandya was booed while leading MI for the first time in IPL 2024 after he replaced Rohit Sharma as a leader.

However, Pathan reckons Pandya will lead with aplomb after winning the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy with the national side. Pandya had missed the team’s opening game against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings due to a slow over-rate offense.

Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube Channel, “There is not that much pressure on the captain because it is his second season for Mumbai. The kind of confidence that Hardik Pandya has shown in the past year, won the T20 World Cup and then performed well in the ICC Champions Trophy, he will bring that confidence here. All the leaders will rally behind Mumbai and Hardik, and that is going to be a big aspect.”

Meanwhile, Pathan reckons Mumbai Indians will be hard to stop from qualifying for the playoffs if they get off to a good start in the ongoing season.

He added, “Mumbai Indians have a solid setup. They are slow starters. They do not win many matches in the beginning, but then Mumbai’s local train picks up a lot of speed. So, if they perform well in the beginning, it will be very tough to stop them from qualifying.”

MI lost their opening match against CSK by four wickets after they could only post 155 runs on the board. The five-time champions is missing the services of their gun fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who is recuperating from a back injury.

Mumbai Indians will next take on Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Saturday.